CONFLICT MANAGEMENT

COM 3326
TOPIC 2
THEORY AND CONTEXT
PREPARED BY
NUR HIDAYAH SAFARUDIN
hidayahsafarudin@segi.edu.my

PREPARED BY NUR HIDAYAH SAFARUDIN 1

 CONTENTS
A. Preventing Conflict
B. Approaches to Conflict
C. Conclusion

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 A. PREVENTING CONFLICT
HOW TO AVOID CONFLICT
WITH PEOPLE
UNDERSTAND THE
UNDERLYING REASONS
FOR CONFLICT IN THE
WORKPLACE.
• Emotion often gets in the
way of sensible resolutions.
• People may feel angry at
unreasonable situations,
which leads to stress and
explosions.

PREPARED BY NUR HIDAYAH SAFARUDIN 3

 A. PREVENTING CONFLICT
HOW TO AVOID CONFLICT
WITH PEOPLE
UNDERSTAND THE
UNDERLYING REASONS
FOR CONFLICT IN THE
WORKPLACE.
• If they have unresolved
anger issues, they may
avoid conflict until
resentment boils over.
• Jealousy, anxiety and
insecurity also lead to
conflict in the workplace.

PREPARED BY NUR HIDAYAH SAFARUDIN 4

 A. PREVENTING CONFLICT
HOW TO AVOID CONFLICT WITH PEOPLE
BE REALISTIC IN YOUR GOALS
• The closer the relationships and the more opportunities
there are for conflict, the more trivial complaints become
significant ones and the more intense the feelings.
• Understand that sources of satisfaction or conflict
include: love, status, service, information, goods, money
and shared time.
• Seek to balance these factors as best you can to avoid
conflict.
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 A. PREVENTING CONFLICT
HOW TO AVOID
CONFLICT WITH PEOPLE
DE-ESCALATE YOUR
PEERS' ANGER.
• Often conflict begins with
an angry comment. Over
time, the perception that
a person's feelings are
ignored or devalued
leads to explosive
conflict.
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 A. PREVENTING CONFLICT
HOW TO AVOID CONFLICT WITH
PEOPLE
DE-ESCALATE YOUR PEERS' ANGER.
• Keep attune to what's going on around
you. If someone is angry, respond
compassionately by acknowledging
their feelings and finding points of
agreement.
• If the anger is directed at you, a
sincere apology is always disarming.
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 A. PREVENTING CONFLICT
HOW TO AVOID CONFLICT WITH PEOPLE
ARRANGE A MEDIATION SESSION ( INTERVENTION )
• The mediator will set the tone by providing a brief
introduction and deciding upon the goals for the
mediation session.
• Each party will then tell their side of the story, being
careful to avoid blame.
• Both parties will be asked for solutions and a satisfactory
agreement will be reached by all.
PREPARED BY NUR HIDAYAH SAFARUDIN 8
 A. PREVENTING CONFLICT
HOW TO AVOID CONFLICT WITH PEOPLE
ASSESS YOUR COMMUNICATION STYLE.
• If you find yourself always embroiled in conflict with
others, the problem may be what you're saying or how
you're saying it.
• Avoid manipulative attempts to make the other person
feel guilty.
• Never use language that incites anger, such as swear
words or racially insensitive terms.
PREPARED BY NUR HIDAYAH SAFARUDIN 9
 B. APPROACHES TO
CONFLICT
ACCOMMODATING
• The accommodating
approach emphasizes
cooperation instead of
assertiveness.
• A person places his
interests last and
allows the other party
to further her
interests.
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B. APPROACHES TO
CONFLICT
AVOIDING
• Avoiding conflict involves one
of the conflicted parties
avoiding communicating about
or confronting the problem,
hoping it will go away.
• By not participating in the
problem-solving process, she
is effectively removing herself
from it.
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 B. APPROACHES TO
CONFLICT
COLLABORATING
• The collaboration
style involves parties
working together to
resolve issues, and
both sides come to
the table with win-win
attitudes.

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 B. APPROACHES TO
CONFLICT
COLLABORATING
• It is a favorable
negotiation style in formal
dispute resolution
situations, such as
mediation, where the
parties employee a
mediator but must agree
on the final, binding
resolution.
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 B. APPROACHES TO
CONFLICT
COMPROMISE
• Bargaining is the hallmark of the compromise approach
to conflict resolution.
• The conflicting parties can identify some interests they
are willing to compromise on to bring about a resolution.
• While the emotional level might still be high, the
compromise style sometimes results in interim solutions
when a full resolution is not immediately possible.

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 B. APPROACHES TO
CONFLICT
CONFRONTATION
• The confrontation style to conflict resolution entails the
party placing his desires above those of all others
involved in the conflict.
• Assertiveness is the hallmark of this approach, and
those employing this style of negotiation aim to address
the conflict head-on.
• It might involve high levels of emotions as the parties
establish positions in what can sometimes evolve into
hostile communications.
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 C. CONCLUSION
THE BOTTOM LINE
• There is not one “right” or “wrong” style – each has its
time and place.
• Learn when and how to use all five, and you’ll be much
more effective than always relying on what your
preferred style is.
• As a manager, learn to suggest different approaches
based on these five styles when striving to defuse
conflict on your team.

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 EXERCISE
TUTORIAL 2
• Imagine you are having a
serious conflict ( any
conflict ) with your
colleague at work. Out of
all 5 approaches to conflict,
which one is the most
favorable to you in order to
resolve this conflict.
Explain 3 reasons why.
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